


I'm Just a Guy

by tatersalad5001



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Drabble, Dreams and Nightmares, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Loss of Powers, Not Really Character Death, Prophetic Dreams, i'm in the middle of like. episode 25 of amnesty rn, so this takes place around then. maybe before. maybe between arcs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-11-29 13:54:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20965430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatersalad5001/pseuds/tatersalad5001
Summary: Duck had gotten pretty used to being Duck Newton: Chosen One. He could take some hits and deal them out. He kept up his sword fighting skills. And he had dreams that warned him about the future.And then, he became Duck Newton: regular dude. He couldn't take so many hits, but he tried to keep dealing them out. He kept up his sword fighting skills.And he had dreams.





	I'm Just a Guy

**Author's Note:**

> been catching up a bit on amnesty, on and off. not super quick or fast or anything. maaaaaybe an episode and a half at a time, infrequently. currently on episode 25 i think? saw [this post](https://datanamines.tumblr.com/post/188235174939/undomestication-trying-this-new-thing-where-i) and thought of duck. my hands slip. despite everything here i am, writing fanfics about justin's taz characters. would love to write more amnesty and more about other characters...maybe after i finish amnesty, i will. please no spoilers in the comments or anything, thank you. i'll listen to the whole thing, but it takes me forever to get through anything.
> 
> hope you enjoy, thanks for stopping by!!

Duck had gotten pretty used to being Duck Newton: Chosen One. He could take some hits and deal them out. He kept up his sword fighting skills.

And he had dreams that warned him about the future.

So, here's the thing. Most of the dreams that were actually prophetic tended to line up with when the abominations came through the gate. Duck knew a pattern when he experienced one. But sometimes, it was pretty damn hard to tell the difference between a regular dream and a vision of the future. Especially as Duck got used to dealing with abominations and Amnesty Lodge and working with the whole Pine Guard thing, because the more he did, the more he dreamed about it all. The more he dreamed about them.

They had some pretty close fucking calls in their fights.

After a point, it wasn't all that rare. Dreams about fighting some abomination or another. Dreams where Duck, for all his chosen powers, for all he threw Beacon at the situation to try to kick some ass, wasn't up to the task. He saw Aubrey flung into the water, unconscious, no one able to get to her in time before water started filling her lungs. He saw Ned with his Narf Blaster, trying to shoot at their target but missing, Ned going down with blood dripping from a wound on his head. He saw Barclay barely making it out with two broken arms, or not making it at all with a broken neck. He saw Mama jumping in, holding on and holding the team together, before a building came crashing down on her. And as Duck saw these images, most times it was because of something he did wrong. He missed an attack, he defended the wrong person, he made a wrong choice, and other people took the punishment for it. Other people he cared about.

He'd wake up, his heart racing, and he'd convince himself it was just a dream, just a bad dream, that it wasn't going to happen. Some nights he believed it better than others.

And then, Minerva was gone, and Duck lost his powers. He was ordinary. He became Duck Newton: regular dude. He couldn't take so many hits, but he tried to keep dealing them out. He kept up his sword fighting skills.

And he had dreams.

It got worse after Duck lost his powers. It wasn't just Duck making mistakes, it was Duck's fault because he was powerless, and there wasn't anything he could do. He couldn't protect the people he called his friends anymore. More and more often, Mama, Ned, Barclay, Aubrey... They were heavily wounded less often, and increasingly, he dreamed about them dying in battle. Every time in a situation he could've prevented or stopped, if he only had his powers. Every time he wasn't fast enough or strong enough, and even if he was, he would've ended up dead instead of them. And whether it would've been better or not, he never got the choice.

His powers were gone, Minerva was gone. Duck shouldn't be having dreams of the future anymore, so it wasn't going to actually happen. But he was so used to having those visions by now, and he didn't need a damn vision in the first place to tell him those exact scenarios could still happen.

Work was starting wear him down, too. It wasn't that he didn't like his job. But the loss of stamina made him more tired after he went out on a patrol, and he was more distracted now than ever before. People were starting to notice.

...What was Duck doing?

It made sense when he was dealing with all of this when he was supposed to be the Chosen One or whatever, but now he wasn't. All he had going for him was that he still had a talking sword. He was more likely to get in his friends' way than he was to actually help them. He was more likely to die than he was to help him. And Duck's death wasn't going to help anything. So why was he doing this? 

But then, he thought about the woods he protected day in and day out. And he thought about all the people who got to enjoy their beauty. Some of them were just passing through. Some of them were his neighbors. But most of them didn't know what was happening around them, and they couldn't protect themselves any better than he could.

Duck wasn't chosen anymore. But he couldn't turn his back on the truth, and he couldn't turn his back on his town.


End file.
